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Four stages of Life

The human life is also seen as four Ashramas or stages .They are Brahmacharya,Grihasthya,Vanaprastha and Sanyasa.

The first quarter of one's life ,brahmacharya is spent in celibate, sober contemplation of life's secrets under a Guru building up life.Grihasthya is the householder's stage known as samsara in which one marries and satisfies kama and artha within a married life and professional career.Vanaprastha is gradual detachment from the material world giving over duties to one's sons and daughters spending more time in contemplation of the truth and making holy pilgrimages. Finally in sanyasa the individual goes off into seclusion to find God through Yogic meditation and peacefully shed the body for the next life.

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